Family Christmas
by willgirl
Summary: Booth and Brennan share Christmas together. B&B fluff! Part of A Year in the Life series.
1. Gift Exchange

**A/N: So here's a new story from me! Except that it's not new at all! I first posted this last year on the Boneyard but never on this site, so I thought I would repost. I was going to go through and edit it, but I thought I should leave it as is, otherwise it would never get up! This is the very first story I wrote, I hope you like it. It's part of a series of six stories entitled A Year in the Life. **

**A quick note, I wrote this after the Judas on a Pole episode, so that's roughly the time period. Although there's no Sully or any of that! The first chapter's short, but I promise they get longer!**

**Thanks to the ABY girls! You rock!**

**Chapter One: Gift Exchange**

Temperance Brennan took a look around her apartment and sighed. _Why did I agree to do this?_ she thought. _Because._ she chided to herself. _They are family. My family. _She thought back to last month, when she had finally found her father only to have him leave with Russ. How she had stood outside the diner and Booth had explained to her that there was more than one type of family. It was at that moment that she realized he was right. Angela, Zack, Hodgins and Booth were her family.

They were more than work colleagues. They had been through so much, both good and bad. Kenton, the Gravedigger, her family. They had been there for it all. And this is why she, Dr. Temperance Brennan, had agreed to have the Christmas gift exchange at her apartment.

She thought back to earlier in the week when Angela proposed the gift exchange. She had walked out of her office and noticed Cam, Zack, Hodgins, Booth and Angela all sitting around the examination table. She walked up to them, but held back, not wanting to become involved in the conversation.

_"So who wants to have the gift exchange? It definitely can't be at my apartment, cuz its way too small" Angela said._

_"You just don't want me to see your place." Hodgins replied._

_"You are absolutely correct!" Angela said, grinning._

_"My apartment is out as well" Cam said. "It's really not big enough for everyone. So who has the biggest place?"_

_"Hodgins." Zach said, automatically. Jack immediately began to shift in his seat and look uncomfortable. "Well.. I.."_

_"I'll do it." She said, the words escaping her lips before she realized what she said._

_"What?" Booth said, looking at her sceptically._

_"I said, that I will have it at my place. I mean…, if that's okay with everyone."_

_"Sweetie, I thought you didn't do Christmas." Angela said._

_"Well, maybe this year…" she trailed off, unsure of what to say._

_"That sounds good, Bones." Booth said, flashing his charm smile. " Can I bring Parker?"_

_"Of course." She replied. "But I don't know have a lot of things in my place that he can play with."_

_"Just leave it up to me." Booth said._

And that was that. It was decided. Angela had come up to her afterwards and given her a big hug and walked away. She was unsure about what it was for, but she decided not to press the issue.

She did one more sweep of her apartment to make sure that her apartment was clean and then sat down on her couch to wait. However, she didn't have to wait very long. Five minutes after she sat down, there was a knock at her door.


	2. A Christmas Tree

**A/N: Holy Smokes! Thanks for the reviews! It got me all excited, so I decided to post the next chapter. Which is a little on the short side, but that's okay. I think they get longer. **

**Chapter Two: A Christmas Tree**

When she opened the door, a small figure with blond curls launched himself at her legs. "Merry Christmas, Dr. Bones" Parker yelled. She looked up at Booth, who was standing with his arms full of presents and a sheepish grin on his face.

"Sorry we're early, Bones." he said. "Parker was really excited to come see you."

"Not a problem" she replied. "Come on in."

Parker stopped hugging Bones and ran into the apartment. "Dr. Bones? Where's your Christmas tree?" he asked.

"Umm, well I didn't get one because…" she stuttered.

"Because she knew that we would be bringing her one." Booth answered for her.

"What?" she questioned.

"Well, I knew that you wouldn't have a Christmas tree and I thought it would be nice for the party if we had a Christmas tree to put our presents under. You don't mind do you?" he asked, looking hesitant.

"Umm, no but you have to set it up. I have never set up a Christmas tree before." She said nervously.

"C'mon Parker" Booth said, gesturing to his son. "Let's show Bones how to decorate a Christmas tree."

"Daddy" Parker said. "Her name is Dr. Bones."

"Oh sorry, I apologize." Booth said, grinning at her. "Let's show Dr. Bones how to decorate a Christmas tree."

She watched as Booth and Parker set up the tree and starting stringing up the lights. Who knew that this is what she would be doing this Christmas. Decorating a tree with Booth and Parker like.. like a family. Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought.

"Hey Bones?" Booth said, snapping her out of her reverie. "You okay?"

"Umm, yeah" she said, shaking her head. " I was just thinking."

"About what?" Booth said, teasingly.

"Well, nothing, it was nothing." She replied awkwardly.

"Well stop thinking" Booth said, taking her hand and pulling her over to the tree. "It's time for the decorations!" He handed her a red glass ball and they all starting decorating the tree. They had just placed the last decoration on the tree when there was a knock at the door.

"Open up sweetie, its us." She heard Angela say. She opened up the door to see Angela, Zack, Hodgins and Cam all standing there, their arms full of presents.

"Come in" she said, as they all trooped into the apartment.

"Nice tree" Hodgins said. "Thanks" she replied. " Booth brought it over so that we could put our presents under it."

"And we decorated! Didn't we, Dr. Bones?" Parker said excitedly.

"Yes, we did." She said smiling, as she took everyone's coats. "Let me put the coats in my room and then I will get everyone a drink.

"So," she said coming back into the room. "I have beer, wine, hot chocolate.."

"Hot Chocolate!" Parker shouted, making everyone laugh.

"I'll have a glass of wine, sweetie." Angela said.

"Hot chocolate" Zach said.

"Of course." Hodgins muttered.

"Well, I will have a beer." Cam said.

"Got any eggnog?" Hodgins asked, with a twinkle in his eye.

"Oh no." Booth said smiling. "You are not allowed to have eggnog after last year."

"Why?" Cam asked. "What happened last year?"

As they launched into the story about their last Christmas experience, she went into the kitchen and starting getting everyone's drinks. Booth followed her in.

"Hey." he said softly.

"Hey yourself." She said back.

"Need help?" he asked, already moving towards the fridge.

"Sure" she replied, handing him the bottle of wine to open. She put the kettle on to make hot chocolate and got every one else's drinks. She could hear the laughter out in the living room as the tale of last Christmas was recounted.

All of a sudden, Parker ran into the room. "Dr. Bones! Dr. Bones! We forgot the most important part!"

"What's that?" she asked.

"The star!" he said, holding it in his hands. "Let's go put it on!" He grabbed her hand and dragged her to the living room where everyone else was sitting laughing.

"You need to pick me up so I can reach the top of the tree."

She bent down and picked up Parker and walked over to the tree, suddenly aware that all eyes in the room were on her.

"Here Dr. Bones." Parker said, holding the star. "You put your hand on that side and we can put it on together!" She put her hand on the star and they put it on the tree together.

"Thanks Dr. Bones!" Parker whispered in her ear as he hugged her.

"You're welcome." She replied.


	3. Santas and Skeletons

**A/N: I can't stop posting this story! It's only about seven chapters long, so I was going to post it over several days, but I can't help myself. Geez, I have no patience! But don't worry, there's five more stories after this one! Thank you so much for the reviews, I really appreciate it. A few promos: Charismatic Evil, my other story, will be up tonight or tomorrow. And I just started a new story called The Letter. **

**Chapter Three: Santas and Skeletons **

"Time for the presents!" Booth said, clapping his hands. Everyone sat around the Christmas tree as Booth began passing out the Christmas presents. She sat and watched as Parker began ripping open his first present. She held back the urge to laugh as she saw Hodgins and Zack do the same thing.

"Here" Booth said, handing a present to her. "This one's for you. If you are okay with getting presents, I mean. I know you have that whole rant about presents being commercial and that, but.."

"Thanks Booth." She interrupted, taking the present out of his hands. She looked up as she heard Parker squeal.

"Look Daddy! I got Operation!" Parker said excitingly.

"Wow bud," Booth replied. "Who gave you that?"

"Zack and Hodgins!" Parker said. "And they got me some video games!"

"Cool." Booth said. "Here's you're next present bud. And pass this one to Cam please."

She watched as Angela received a beautiful necklace from Hodgins and Cam got a coffee set from Zack. She still held the present in her hands, forgotten as she watched the smiles on her friends faces.

"Earth to Bones" Booth said, shaking her arm. "Are you going to open that or what?"

"Umm.. yeah." She said as she pulled the wrapping paper off the present. She looked down at the framed picture, tears welling up in her eyes again. It was a painting Angela had done, of all of them based on a photo she had Sid take at Wong Foo's one day. She looked up and saw Angela smiling at her. "Thanks Ange." She said, trying to will the tears not to fall down her cheeks. She got up out of her chair and went over and hugged her.

"I am glad you like it sweetie" Angela said. "And I know the perfect place you can put it too!"

The present opening continued with Parker leading the charge, opening his other presents as fast as he could. She watched as Booth handed Hodgins a big box.

"Dude, what's with the huge present?" Hodgins asked Booth.

"Wait till you open it and see." Booth replied. Hodgins unwrapped the present to reveal a taped up box. He opened it up, peered in and started laughing.

"What is it?" Angela asked.

"Two cases of eggnog!" Hodgins replied.

The whole room burst into laughter. The present opening was beginning to wind down. She hoped that Booth wouldn't notice that she hadn't given him his gift yet. She was planning on giving it to him later. It just seemed too personal to give in front of everyone, especially Cam. She looked over at Cam, who was sitting on a chair watching the proceedings.

'Cam seems uncomfortable'. She thought to herself. She noticed that unlike the others, Cam have both given and received fairly generic gifts. Everyone else's gifts had some story or significant meaning. She let her gaze drift over to Booth, who was starting to clean up.

"Wait Daddy!" Parker cried. " I have one more present! And it's heavy!"

"Who's it from?" Booth asked.

"Dr. Bones!" Parker replied, as he ripped the wrapping paper off of the present. "Cool!" he yelled. "Thanks Dr. Bones!" he said, running over to her and giving her huge hug. "Can you show me how it works?"

"Sure" she replied. "But we will have to do it at the kitchen table."

"Come show me what you got Parker" Booth said, gesturing to his son.

"It's a digging thing!" Parker said excitingly. "See? You have to dig this stuff and there are bones and then when you get all the bones you put them together and get a skel'ton."

"Impressive" Booth said as he turned to her. "Trying to turn my son into a squint, are we?"

She laughed. "Maybe."

"C'mon Dr. Bones!" Parker said, as he grabbed her hand. "Let's go!"

She let him lead her over to the table where they got out the digging kit. She noticed that he listened attentively when she explained what the tools were and how to start digging. After about five minutes of chipping away at the rock, she began to see a bit of white.

Parker noticed it too and began to yell.

"We found one Daddy!" he cried. "Come see." Booth came walking over and looked at the rock.

"That's neat, bud." Booth said, peering down at the piece of white plastic bone sticking out of the rock. "So, do you want to give Dr. Bones her present now?" he asked Parker.

"Yeah!" Parker said, jumping down from the table and running to the door.

"If everyone doesn't mind," Booth said. "Parker's present to Bones is offsite."

She scanned the room to see if the others knew about this, but they looked as confused as she did. She went into the bedroom to retrieve everyone's coats. 'What was going on?' She thought to herself. 'What kind of present would not be here?' She watched as the others followed her into her bedroom and grabbed their coats and hats.

"Do we have to cover Dr. Bones eyes yet?" she heard Parker say as she walked into the room.

"Not yet" Booth replied. "So I thought we would take two cars if that is okay with everyone. I have room in my car for one more person other than Bones and Parker, so one of you can come with me. Whoever is in the other car can follow."

"I'll drive." Hodgins said. "And I will take Zach and Angela with me."

"Okay." Booth replied. "Let's go."

Everyone trooped out of the apartment, her and Booth being the last ones to leave. "So are you having a good time so far?" he asked her as she locked the door.

"Yes. It's been fun." She replied.

"Well don't worry." Booth said. "It's about to get a lot more fun!"


	4. Parker's Present

**A/N: Wow! Thanks for all the reviews! They are fantastic, I really appreciate it! I love how people demanded to know what Parker's present was. I hope this lives up to what you were thinking!**

**Chapter Four: Parker's Present**

They all piled into the car, Cam sitting in the front with Booth, while she sat in the back with Parker. It felt weird not sitting in her seat. 'That's silly' she scoffed at herself. 'It's not your seat. I'm sure Booth has tons of people sitting up there when you're not in his car.' She shook the thought out of her head and listened to Parker as he explained how his video game worked.

"So where are we going?" Cam asked.

"Can't tell." Booth replied as he looked back at her. "The present getter is in the car."

"Really Booth" she said. "You don't have to do this."

"Yes I do" he replied. "Besides it's not my present to you, it's Parker's. You will get yours from me later."

A small smile crept over her face. He had done the same thing she had. She wondered if anyone else noticed that they didn't exchange presents. Everyone fell silent for the next fifteen minutes.

"K, we are a few minutes away." Booth said.

"Is it time to put the scarf on Daddy?" Parker asked.

"Yep it is" Booth replied, reaching into a bag beside him and pulling out a scarf. "Her Bones, put this over your eyes."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because this present doesn't come in wrapping paper." Booth answered. "So you need to be surprised."

She reached for the scarf and wrapped it around her head.

"No peeking Dr. Bones!" Parker said, bouncing in his seat excitingly.

She felt the car turn left and then slow to a stop. The doors of the car opened as Booth and Cam got out. She fumbled for the handle but couldn't find it. Suddenly her door opened and she felt Booth's hand slide into hers.

"C'mon" he said, pulling her out of the car. "Stay here." He instructed, as he helped Parker get out of the car. She could hear the other car doors slam and hear Angela exclaim "Wow!" as they walked towards her.

"Where did you find this place, man?" Hodgins said.

"I know the owner." Booth replied.

"Where are we?" she asked. "And can I take this scarf off now?"

"What do you think Parker?" Booth asked.

"Yeah!" Parker said.

She felt Booth untie the scarf from her head and she opened her eyes. In front of her was a huge pond surrounded on one side by Christmas trees which were decorated with various bulbs and ornaments. It looked as if she had stepped into a Christmas movie. Beside her was a set of rickety old bleachers that had five pairs of skates lying on it.

"Wow Booth, this is beautiful." She murmured.

"Do you like it?" Parker said, jumping up and down.

"Yes I do" she said, as she knelt down. "It's the best present." She pulled him towards her and gave him a big hug. He wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged back. Clearly Booth's ability to make her feel good with a hug was passed down to his son.

Parker broke away and ran over to Booth. "Daddy, do you hear?" Parker shouted. "Dr. Bones said my present was the best!"

"I did." Booth said. "Well should we go skating?" he said looking at everyone.

"Definitely!" said Zack. "I love skating!"

"Me too." Said Cam. "I used to skate in New York all of the time."

"Hey Seeley!" a man shouted as he walked up to them.

"Hey Uncle Pete!" Booth said back, as the man grabbed and hugged him.

"Hi Parker" Pete said, giving Parker a hug. "You look bigger. And these must be the squints I've heard so much about."

"Yeah, this is Zach, Hodgins Angela and Cam." Booth said pointing to everyone as he spoke. "And this is…"

"Bones, right." Peter said as he shook her hand. " I have heard a lot about you."

"Really?" she asked. "What have you heard?"

"Just that you are Seeley's partner and that you keep him on his toes." Pete chuckled.

"So how do you know Booth?" Angela asked.

"I've known Seeley since I caught him trying to kiss a girl behind my Christmas trees when he was nine." Pete said.

Everyone starting laughing as Booth turned red. "Stop spilling my secrets, Pete."

"Do you own this place?" Cam asked.

"Yes. It's been in my family for many years. I open it up to the public for skating and hockey games, but I closed it today so you have the pond all to yourselves. I placed your skates on the bleachers. I hope I have correct sizes but if not just come over to the pro shop and I will fit you. Have fun!" Pete said, heading back to the building in the distance.

Booth went over to the car and grabbed his and Parker's skates out of the car. Everyone grabbed a pair of skates and started trying them on.

She hesitated. She hadn't been skating since.., well it was a long time. "Umm, Booth." She said, watching him put Parker's skates on. "I haven't been skating since.."

"Since you were eleven and you fell on the ice and got a concussion. I know, Bones. But don't worry. I will make sure that you won't get concussed." Booth said as he gestured to last pair of skates on the bleachers.

She sat down next to Angela and began putting them on. 'When did Booth start knowing all of my stories?' she thought to herself. She came to the realization that Booth knew more about her than anyone else, even Angela who was her best friend. 'Well, he is my partner.' She said to herself. But that didn't seem convincing. She looked over at Angela who was having trouble making her skates tight enough.

"Here." Booth said, coming over to Angela. "I will make them tight for you."

"Thanks Booth." Angela said. "I haven't skated in a while."

After Booth finished tying up Angela's skates, he automatically reached over and starting tying her skates as well.

"I think I can tie my own skates Booth." She said.

"Hey you said it yourself, you haven't been since you were eleven. Just trying to help out." He said as he finished lacing her up. "Okay, lets go!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the ice.

Everyone got on the ice at the same time. Angela fell down right away, causing Hodgins to start laughing hysterically. Zach looked like a natural on the ice, he said it was because he skated all the time back in Michigan. Cam was a good skater too, she immediately took off down the ice. She slowly put one foot on the ice and started to wobble.

Booth grabbed her arm "Don't worry." He whispered in her ear. "I've got you."

"Let's go Daddy!" Parker said, skating back and forth in front of them.

She put her other foot on the ice and began to skate. She wasn't bad, not nearly as bad as Angela, who had just fallen for the second time in five minutes. She started skating around the pond, looking at the Christmas trees as she went. It was so beautiful. It had snowed the night before, and all of the trees were dusted with snow. There was a slight breeze, that caused all of the ornaments to sway and clink against each other. She felt calm and relaxed; she couldn't remember the last time she felt like that. So many things had happened in the last few months.

She looked around the ice at the others skating. Cam and Zach were speeding around the pond together. Angela and Hodgins were also skating around the pond, however going much slower due to the fact that Angela kept falling. In the middle, Booth and Parker were racing each other back and forth. She liked watching Booth when he was with Parker. He seemed a lot calmer as well, almost as if he was a different person.

"Dr. Bones!" Parker yelled. "Come race with us." She smiled and headed over to where they were.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Wow! So many reviews! Thank you so much. Here's the continuation of chapter four! Oh, and I posted a oneshot called Baby, It's Cold Outside, if anyone's interested!**

**Chapter Four Part Two: Parkers Present**

After skating in several races with Booth and Parker, she skated off the ice and on to the bleachers for a break. Angela and Hodgins skated by.

"Jack" Angela said to Hodgins. "Do you mind if I take a break and sit with Bren? I'm pretty tired of skating."

"Yeah, no problem." Hodgins replied, skating off to join Zack and Cam.

Angela sat next to her. She was quiet for about thirty seconds. "So?" Angela asked. "How can you not say that he likes you?"

"What?" she said, trying to avoid Angela's gaze.

"He got you a Christmas tree, he took you skating.." Angela said. That's pretty obvious."

"It was Parker's present." She replied. "Besides he's just being nice. Look Ange, I don't really want to talk about it. Besides he's with Cam, remember?"

"I don't think they are together anymore." Angela said with a devious smile.

'Angela will never give up.' She thought to herself. 'Always thinking there is something between us when we are just partners.'

"Ange," she said, trying to change the subject. "I just wanted to tell you that I loved the picture. It's really great. And.. and it means a lot to me."

"You're welcome, sweetie." Angela replied, wrapping her arms around her in a hug. "Although I feel bad that Cam was there when you opened it, seeing that she is not in the picture."

She opened her mouth to reply, when she saw Pete approach with a tray of drinks.

"Hot chocolate, ladies?" Pete said.

They both held out their hands and grabbed the hot chocolates. 'Mmm, so good.' She thought to herself. She watched as Hodgins, Zack and Cam came in and grabbed hot chocolate from Pete.

"One of you will have to go and get the other two." Pete said. "They would continue skating till they fell down if they had the choice."

She looked over and saw Parker chasing Booth across the ice at the other end of the pond.

"I'll go." She said, getting off the bleachers and back on to the ice. She headed over to where Booth and Parker were.

"Pete has hot chocolate if you two are interested." She said skating up to them.

"Yeah! Hot chocolate!" Parker cried. "Come on Daddy let's go!" Parker proceeded to skate as fast as he could to the other end of the pond.

She stood awkwardly looking at Booth. "So…" she said, trailing off.

"Wanna race?" Booth asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"You're on!" she replied.

"Okay, on the count of three." Booth said. "One, two, three.!"

They were off, skating side by side as fast as they could. She was ahead of him by half a step, when she felt him tugging on her jacket to pull her back.

"Hey, no fair!" she yelled at him. She saw him grin and try to race past her. She went to grab his jacket and tripped. Her arms went flailing and as she fell, she grabbed Booth. They both went crashing down on the ice, sliding to a stop in front of the others. She shook her head and looked over at Booth, who was laughing.

"So, who won?" Booth, asked looking at the others.

"It was a tie, Daddy!" Parker yelled.

She looked over at Booth and saw him smiling back at her. Neither of them realized that they were practically in each other's arms on the ice. However one look back at the squints, and she realized by the expressions on everyone's faces that they did. She quickly disentangled herself from Booth and stood up.

"That was some good skating!" Booth said. "Is everyone ready to go?"

"Yes please." Angela piped up. "I need to go home and put ice on my butt!"

"Isn't that what you were doing all afternoon?" Hodgins asked. Everyone started laughing.

Angela realized her error and said "That's not funny!" This made everyone laugh harder. They headed over to the bleachers where they took off their skates and handed them back to Pete.

"Thanks for the skate, Pete." Booth said, giving Pete a pat on the back.

"No problem, Seeley. Anytime." Pete said. "By the way, I understand what you meant. She definitely is more than a match for you."

She looked up from undoing her skates and wondered if anyone else had heard Pete's comment. However it appeared as if they were too busy undoing their skates.

"Well, it was nice to meet you all" Pete said, stepping closer to the bleachers. "Hopefully we will meet again."

Everyone shouted out their goodbyes and headed back to the car.

"We will see you guys back at the apartment?" Hodgins said.

"For sure." Booth replied, as he strapped Parker into the seat.

She got ready to sit in the back again, however Booth held the passenger side door open for her. She got in, flashing a look at Cam who did not look pleased at the prospect of sitting next to Parker. She really needn't of worried, because Parker fell asleep about two minutes into the drive.

"So, did you enjoy yourself?" Booth asked her.

"Yeah, I did." She replied. "Honestly, it was great. I had forgotten how much fun skating was."

"Yeah well the prospect of concussed heads will do that do you" Booth chuckled.

They sank into a comfortable silence until they reached her apartment. Booth carried Parker into her bedroom and shut the door.

"He should sleep till it's time to go." Booth said.

A few minutes later, everyone else arrived at the apartment.

"Wow, it is five o'clock already" Angela said. "We should go. I am sure that Zach and Cam have to pack."

"Actually I packed five days ago." Zach said.

"Well, I haven't!" Cam said, as she started to gather up the presents she had received. "I'm one of those last minute packers."

Everyone began gathering their things in preparation to leave. She smiled as she watched everyone start to laugh over the gifts they had received. She watched Zach carefully pack his new Dr. Addy nameplate she had got him into one of his bags. The only one not packing up their stuff was Booth. When they all finished, they turned her.

"Well" she said. "Thanks for coming. It really meant a lot." She didn't know how to say that this was important to her. How they had made her feel like she wasn't alone anymore. That despite, however weird it may look to others, they were her family. She shifted her feet awkwardly.

Zach broke the silence. "You're welcome, Dr. Brennan." He said softly.

Angela came over and gave her a big hug. "Thanks for hosting it here." She said. "It was perfect."

Everyone gathered up their gifts and started heading out the door. There was more laughter as they all watched Jack try to carry his big box of eggnog along with the other presents he had received. Finally everyone was gone, except for her and Booth. She turned and looked at him. "Beer?" she asked.

"I can't." Booth replied. "I have to take Parker back to Rebecca's. But when I'm done, why don't I pick up dinner from Wong Foo's and bring it back?"

"Sure." She replied. "That would be great."

Booth went into her bedroom to wake Parker. "C'mon Parker, I've got to take you back to your mom's." she heard Booth say. She started to pack up the skeleton digging kit and the other gifts that he received. She felt a tug at her sleeve and turned and saw Parker looking at her.

"Thanks for 'viting me, Dr. Bones." He said, as he hugged her legs. "And thanks for my present."

She knelt down and gave him a hug. "Thanks for my present." She whispered into his ear. "It was one of the best presents I ever got." A tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away.

After gathering all of his stuff, and putting Parker's hat and coat back on, they were ready to head out the door.

"I'll be back." Booth said, walking out the door.

"Bye Dr. Bones!" Parker yelled from down the hallway.

As soon as they were gone she shut the door, headed to the couch and flopped down. She thought back to the beginning of the week, when she offered to have the gift exchange at her house. She never thought the day would end up like this. First decorating the Christmas tree with Booth and Parker, and then the gifts she received, especially Ange's picture. And then the skating surprise. It was perfect. It occurred to her that she had not thought about work the entire day, which was completely unusual. She definitely had her friends to thank for that. She laid her head back on the couch and closed her eyes. She was tired after all that skating, however she was also a little nervous. "What if Booth doesn't like his present?' she mused. It was silly, really. She had left his present until last, unsure of what to get him. But finally she found something that she thought he would like. Before she could consider this more, she fell fast asleep.


	6. A Beautiful Gift

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for the reviews! I'm glad you like it! **

Chapter Five: A Beautiful Gift

"Bones. Wake up." She heard Booth say. She slowly opened her eyes and focused them. She was staring directly into the eyes of Seeley Booth. He couldn't have been more than a few inches away from her face.

"Oh, sorry." She said sitting up quickly on the couch. "I must have been tired after all of the fun today." She touched her now matted hair. 'God I must look like a mess.' She thought to herself.

"You look fine." Booth said to her smiling.

'When did he start reading my thoughts?' she wondered, as she smoothed down her wrinkled shirt.

'I got dinner. Are you hungry?" Booth asked.

Before she could answer, her stomach emitted a large growl.

"Well, I guess that answers that." Booth said, laughing.

She felt her cheeks turn red in embarrassment. She watched as Booth headed over to the kitchen table and started unpacking the containers from Wong Foo's. She walked over to the table. "Do you want a beer?' she asked.

"Sure." He replied, still unpacking the food.

She went to the fridge and grabbed two beers and opened them. As she walked back over to the kitchen table, she noticed the quantity of food on the table. "What's with all the food Booth?" she asked. "We will be eating for hours."

"Well, Sid said that it was the type of night to eat some of everything, so that's what he packed us." Booth said, pulling up a chair. "So let's dig in!"

She handed him a beer and sat down, starting to rifle through the containers. They were silent as they began to sample from all of the containers. She liked that about him. Despite the fact that they argued all the time, they were comfortable sitting in silence as well. 'Comfortable.' She thought to herself. It was a word that she would not have used to describe their relationship a year and a half ago.

"So," Booth said, breaking the silence. "Are you going to be working all day on Christmas or are you going to give yourself a break?"

"Actually, I wasn't planning on going in." she replied. " I have to get working on my book. I've only started the outline, and my editor wants to see it in January. What about you? Are you spending the day with Parker?"

"Yeah, I just found out right now when I was dropping him off that I get to have him tomorrow night and then Christmas morning as well." Booth said, his eyes lighting up. "That's never happened before, but Rebecca offered.."

"Wow, that's great." She replied. "Parker's a great kid by the way."

"Well, you are now the new favourite, after that present you gave him." Booth said. "He couldn't stop talking about you the entire way to Rebecca's."

"It was nice spending time with him" she said. "He is a lot like you."

"Really?" Booth asked.

"He has inherited the charm smile gene that's for sure." She replied, grabbing another container of food.

"I thought that didn't work on you." Booth said, smiling.

"Clearly he is better at it then you!" she said, laughing. She looked at the container in front of her and pushed it away. "Ugh" she groaned. "I think I am done."

"Me too." Booth said. "I am just about at the point were I am going to burst."

"You know that's not possible, right?" she said. "You technically can't…."

"It's just an expression, Bones." He answered. "Let's go sit on the couch and look at the tree. I will put the lights on."

She suddenly felt nervous. Maybe she was completely wrong about this present idea. She should have just got him something that he could have opened in front of the others. Not that he couldn't with this, but now she felt hesitant. She watched as Booth turned on the lights and came and sat down beside her. They stared at the lights for a long time.

Booth turned to her and said quietly "I'm glad that you had a good time today."

"Yeah" she replied. "Me too. Booth, the skating was.. incredible. Really, I haven't felt that calm and relaxed in a long time. Thank you."

"I'm glad you liked it." Booth answered. "It was good to see you enjoying something other than human remains!"

"Hey!" she protested. "I like things other than human remains!"

" I know you do." Booth said, laughing. "So do I get to give you your Christmas present yet?"

"Sure" she replied. "I have one for you too. I was going to give it to you earlier, but I thought.."

"Yeah" Booth interrupted. "Me too."

The both got up off the couch to collect their presents for each other and headed back. She noticed that when they sat back down they had moved closer together.

"So who wants to go first?" Booth asked.

She started fiddling with the tissue paper on his present. "Umm…" she said.

"Do you mind if I give you yours first?" Booth asked, also looking a little nervous.

"Sure" she said, slowly exhaling the breath she had been holding for the past thirty seconds. He handed her the gift bag. She pulled the card out of its envelope and opened it.

It said 'Dear Temperance,

I just wanted to let you know how proud I am to be your partner. I watched you go through a lot this year and yet you came out standing. You were also there for me, and it meant a lot. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

Your partner,

Seeley.'

She felt her body start to tremble and her stomach was doing flip flops. She didn't know if it was because of the words that he had written or the fact that he had used her first name, something he had never done before. She pulled out the tissue paper and reached into the bag. She pulled out a square velvet box. 'He bought me jewellery.' She thought to herself.

She looked up at him in surprise. He had a nervous expression on his face and he was playing with his fingers anxiously. She opened the box and gasped. Inside the box was a beautiful copper pendant necklace that exactly matched her mother's earrings. She had never seen anything like it before. A tear rolled down her cheek. She looked at him again, at a complete loss as to what to say.

"Umm, so I hope it's okay." Booth said, starting to ramble. "I just noticed that you didn't have a necklace that matched your mother's earrings and um….well, I thought…but if you don't like it..."

"Booth" she said, interrupting him. "This is the best gift .." She stopped, as another tear rolled down her cheek. "Thank you." She reached out and pulled him into a hug. She felt the tears fall down her face. 

"I didn't mean to make you cry at Christmas." Booth said, his voice muffled by her hair.

"Don't worry." She replied. "It's a good kind of crying." She felt as if she could have stayed in his arms forever. She pulled back and looked at him.

" I don't understand. How did you do this?" she asked, wiping away the tears.

"Well, I checked around the area where you used to live for jewellery stores." Booth said. " I narrowed my search and went from there. I found the store and after describing the earrings to him, I got him to make the necklace. It was a one of a kind jewellery store, so he remembered the earrings."

"You did that for me?" she asked, her heart beating like crazy.

"Yeah" he replied. "You deserved it. Besides, I know you don't like going to your mother's grave. So maybe having one more thing around to remind you of her is a substitute for that. Besides it wasn't too hard. I do work for the FBI, you know."

She let out a laugh. "That's true. This was definitely not what I was expecting."

"What did you think I was going to get you?" Booth asked.

"I don't know." She shrugged. Her eyes brightened as she thought of something. "Maybe a gun?"

Booth laughed. "Sorry, but even I can't get that for you. Anyways, I'm your gun, remember?"

"Yeah." She said softly, holding the necklace in her hands. "Will you help me put it on?"

"Sure." Booth said, putting the necklace around her neck and doing up the clasp. "It looks great."

"I'll be back, hold on." She replied. She went into her bedroom and opened her jewellery box. She picked up her mother's earrings and slipped them into her ears. Looking into the mirror, she felt tears welling up in her eyes again. It looked absolutely perfect.

She headed back to the living room.

"Beautiful" Booth said, staring at her.

All of the sudden, she felt shy and awkward.

"Thanks" she said. "So would you like your present now?"

"Absolutely!" Booth said, rubbing his hands together.


	7. Let it Snow

Chapter Six: Let it Snow

She handed him the bag nervously. Booth pulled out the tissue paper, grabbed the card and opened it.

'Dear Booth' it said.

'Thank you.

Thank you for putting up with me and all the problems that come with me.

Thank you for always being there, whether it was New Orleans, or the warehouse or my parents.

Thank you for being my family.

Love, Bones.'

"You're welcome." Booth said, staring at her. He has this way of staring at her that made her feel that he was looking into more than her eyes. Not that she believed a body had a soul, but sometimes with him, it felt like that.

Booth reached in a pulled a box out of the bag. "I wonder what it is" he said grinning.

She watched as he opened the box and pulled out the gift. It was a silver frame, not too fancy, that she picked out in a store last week. Even though it was a simple frame, she was astonished to find herself looking for four hours for the right one. Inside was a picture of the two of them that Angela had taken several weeks before. They had gotten into an argument about a suspect and were standing yelling at each other, their faces only a few inches apart. Then he had said something funny and they both started to laugh. Neither of them noticed Angela taking their picture.

The picture captured them perfectly. Both their cheeks were flushed with anger but the look in their eyes was a mixture of passion and respect. Her hands were on her hips, his one hand on his. The other hand was stretched towards her as if he was going to touch her arm. They looked both angry and friendly at the same time. It definitely encapsulated their relationship. Underneath the picture, a quote was engraved into the frame. It said 'A friend is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.-Aristotle.' She watched as his fingers traced the engraving.

"It's fantastic." Booth said, looking at her. "I don't have any pictures of us."

"Thanks" she replied, all of the sudden feeling shy around Booth.

"I think I won that argument." Booth chuckled, breaking the tension in the room.

"You did not." She replied.

"Hey from this picture it looks like my charm smile did the trick." Booth said.

"Hmm.." she said, not knowing what to say. It was true, the charm smile usually worked, even though she tried very hard to pretend it didn't.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each holding the wrapping of their gift. She reached up and touched her necklace. She never thought that he would give her something like that. Something so beautiful and meaningful.

"Well I should go." Booth said, breaking the silence. "Since I've got Parker tomorrow and everything."

"Yeah" she replied. "I have stuff I have to do too." She didn't add that she would give it all up if he just continued to sit next to her.

"Plus, you have had to spend all day with me." Booth said.

"Don't I normally?" she replied.

"That is a good point." Booth said. "I hope this day was as fun as human remains."

"It was." She replied. "It was one of the best days I've had in a while."

"I'm glad you did this Temperance." Booth said, resting his hand on her leg. She blushed, both from him saying her name as well as his hand on her leg.

"So.." she said, feeling uncomfortable. She started to lean away from him.

"Right, I should go." Booth said, standing up and getting his jacket on. He went around and gathered all of his presents in his arms. "I'll be back." he said, carrying the presents downstairs to his car. A few minutes later he was back. "Put your coat on" Booth said, coming back into the apartment.

"Why?" she questioned.

"You'll see." Booth replied, waiting for her to get ready.

She put her hat and coat on and followed him out the door and down the stairs. Booth opened the outside door.

It was snowing. It was a light snow that was dusting the trees and cars, turning everything into a picturesque winter scene. She looked at him and smiled. "This is beautiful." She sighed.

"Yeah" he replied. "It's like we are in White Christmas you know?"

"I don't know what that means." She said, cursing herself for the thousandth time for not understanding him.

"It's a classic Christmas movie. Do me a favour." Booth said. "Go rent it. When you get the last scene, you will understand."

They stood there, side by side for a few minutes, snow slowly falling down on their cheeks.

"Anyway" Booth said, turning to her. "Merry Christmas Bones."

Before she even realized what she was doing, she took two steps towards him and pressed her lips against his. It was like no kiss she had ever had before. She could feel it all the way down to her toes. He kissed back, lifting his hands and running them through her hair.

She broke away and looked at him. He had a mixture of shock and pleasure on his face.

"Merry Christmas Booth." She said, feeling dizzy and out of breath.

She turned and not looking back, walked straight into her apartment building and shut the door.

* * *

**A/N: Guess what? That was the last chapter! Don't worry there's an epilogue! And five more stories after this one!**


	8. Epilogue

A/N: Here's the epilogue. Some people seemed to be confused about my five stories remark. Let me explain. Last year around this time I wrote six stories, this being the first. But I never posted them on fanfic. So I'm posting them now! The next story is called When The Ball Drops and should be up in the next few days! I'm glad everyone's liking the story! Thanks for the review!

**Epilogue**

**Three Hours Later.**

She sat curled up on the couch watching the end of White Christmas. As soon as Booth had left, she went to the video store and was surprised that there was still a copy available. As she watched them singing and saw them reveal that it was snowing to the audience, she understood what he meant perfectly. For the first time that night, she allowed herself to think about what had happened. 'What came over me' she thought to herself. When he said Merry Christmas, he had given her that look. And she knew, right then and there that she loved him. 'I think I always knew.' She mused to herself.

A tear fell down her cheek. He made her feel like she wasn't alone anymore. And everything he had done for her, the skating and the present, it was perfect. And the kiss. She had never been kissed like that before. It was passionate, but gentle at the same time. She shivered as she thought about it.

But now, alone in her apartment her fears began to resurface. 'What if he doesn't feel the same way?' she thought to herself. Although he had kissed her back. But it changes everything. Their partnership and friendship could be ruined all for a stupid kiss.

She leapt off the couch and ran to the bedroom. She grabbed her jeans and t-shirt and started putting them on. She had to talk to him. They needed to logically sit down and figure out what this meant. 'Although the kiss was anything but logical.' She thought to herself. She brushed the thought out of her mind and headed to the door. She was about to open it when there was a knock at the door.


End file.
